Massive heat wave scorches central U.S. and expands east, as drought continues in Sou

[Scpg02.]

Posted at 10:50 AM ET, 07/18/2011
Massive heat wave scorches central U.S. and expands east, as drought continues in South
By Andrew Freedman

A long-duration, widespread heat wave continues to bake virtually the entire central U.S., with a potentially deadly combination of high heat and humidity extending from Texas all the way to the Canadian border, oozing eastward during the course of this week.

During the weekend, the Central States and Upper Midwest suffered the most, with temperatures in the upper 90s to low 100s. When combined with dew points running in the mid-70s to near 80 - levels more typically experienced by residents of Louisiana than Wisconsin - heat index values soared into dangerous territory. And this heat event is not even close to being over, with a massive dome of high pressure sliding slowly east from the Plains States toward the Mississippi River Valley, eventually pumping warmer and more humid air into the mid-Atlantic.

The numbers tell the story of a brutally hot month so far. Through July 16, 969 daily high temperature records were either tied or broken in the country, including 12 all-time highest temperature records, most of which were set in Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Nighttime lows have been extremely warm as well, with 1,924 records set or tied for daily highest minimum temperature. For example, on July 12, Richmond, Va., set a new benchmark for its warmest low temperature on record at 81 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking the old record of 79 degrees. This was the first time the low temperature failed to drop below 80 degrees since records began at that location in 1897.

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Climate change research indicates that manmade emissions of greenhouse gases may already be increasing the likelihood of extreme heat events like this one, including the 2003 European heat wave that killed tens of thousands. Also, recent studies have projected much hotter summers beginning as soon as just a few decades from now as the climate continues to warm. However, it will take months if not years for scientists to determine whether climate change has played a role in turning up the heat so far this summer, and in this heat wave specifically.

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[Climate Realist]

This is WEATHER not climate!

One hot summer does not a catastrophic man-made climate change make!

[Scpg02.]

(07-19-2011 02:41 AM)Climate Realist Wrote:  This is WEATHER not climate!

One hot summer does not a catastrophic man-made climate change make!

It's climate when it supports AGW and weather when it doesn't.